On Thursday 18 July 2013, Words of Colour Productions hosted a very special In Conversation event with award-winning author and children’s laureate Malorie Blackman OBE. As part of that event we held a competition for two young fans to win the chance to attend the event and meet Malorie, read to her from their favourite book, have their photograph taken with her and receive a signed copy of her latest novel Noble Conflict. They had to answer this question: What is your favourite Malorie Blackman book and why? Below are the winning entries from the two lucky winners.
Aysha Maha Jahangir, aged 13, from Ilford, London
I have read three of Malorie’s books. They are so awe-inspiring. I have read Noughts & Crosses, Knife Edge, Checkmate and [the novella] An Eye for an Eye.
I love the way she portrays the struggle and strife of a black girl and a white boy and how they try to stay together, even though they are living in a world of racism. Also how their daughter Callie Rose fights for the freedom of white people.
I found the way how white people are called blankers and black people daggers incredibly clever as though Malorie is trying to show how their skin colour and personalities have led them to be given racist names from each other’s community.
Noughts & Crosses opened my eyes to a whole different story. In history we only ever find out about how black people were discriminated against, but never about how whites people were or are. Her books are like life retold but with different characters. It makes me feel like I am standing there, following Callum, Sephy or Callie Rose’s lives, like I’m a new character in her book.
Malorie’s books are about every day possibilities, the lives of real people made imaginary in the heads of us readers. Her books have inspired me to write more. I’d really like to meet her; it would be amazing.
*Savena Surana, aged 17, from Leicester
Noughts & Crosses was my first literary experience which didn’t merely stick to the stereotypical happy ending for a teenage story, which is why I instantly fell in love with it. Noughts & Crosses delves into the themes of racism and discrimination so easily that I soon found myself delving deeper into each book, trying to find some consolidation after the dramatic ending to the first book.
Malorie’s depth of characters and complete submersion into the theme of racism was so astonishing that it has inspired me to question so many views in my own life and to challenge others on theirs. What makes this book so good is how the idea of discrimination isn’t just explored. Teenage alcoholism and depression are also looked into.
All these issues made the characters so real that to this day I still remember the first time I read the tragic ending, continuously turning the page in anticipation for Sephy to realise that it was all just some horrible dream. I so desperately wanted there to be an alternative ending that I scoured the internet for some hope. Alas it was not to be.
It was raw and took me on my first emotional roller coaster as a young adult which set me on the path of rediscovering the feeling of satisfaction after reading a good book. Noughts & Crosses is a book which has ignited an already kindling fire for my love of the written word.
*Sadly Savena didn’t get to attend the event and meet Malorie due to unforeseen circumstances.